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lovesickness

lovesickness

1 7.7
A deep sadness and strong wish to be with a person you care about
  • noun
  • /ˈlʌvˌsɪk.nəs/
translation icon : anhelo
  • Many people experience lovesickness when they are away from their partners for too long.

Examples

  • Similar to American country-western, enka focuses on themes such as the pains of urban migration, lovesickness, nostalgia, and loneliness (Hughes 1990, 11).

    Academic text (2016)
  • After weeks apart, her lovesickness made it hard for her to concentrate on anything else.

  • But is that like lovesickness or like hatesickness?

  • The atrabilious maladies to which artists were supposedly vulnerable included lovesickness and plague.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The music can tap into sentiments of displacement, lovesickness, or longing for a distant home.

    Academic text (2016)
  • He felt a wave of lovesickness wash over him each time he saw her photo.

Synonyms

heartbreak
vslovesickness
76 3.9

A very strong sadness after losing someone you love

is focused on longing due to separation rather than only final loss or death
longing
vslovesickness
69 4.2

A strong wish for someone or something you cannot have

is more about distress and unhappiness from separation rather than desire alone
broken heart
vslovesickness
64 3.4

Deep sadness and pain you feel after losing or being rejected by someone you love

is about ongoing longing and distress from not being with someone
heartsickness
vslovesickness
8.3

A deep, painful sadness from missing someone or something

is about distress from being separated or unable to be with someone dear
brokenheartedness
vslovesickness
7.5

Deep sadness after losing someone you love

is about longing when unable to be with someone, not only permanent loss

Antonyms

970 1.0

A feeling of pleasure and being satisfied

26 2.1

A feeling of being happy and satisfied with your life

How Longing

lovesickness
1 7.7
yearning
8 5.5
longing
69 4.2
hankering
11 6.6

Surface Forms

lovesickness singular

Morphology

lovesickness = lovesick (transparent) = love + sick + ness

Formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness' to 'lovesick'; the meaning ('the state of being lovesick') follows directly from the base.

Etymology

The word lovesickness comes from the two simple parts love and sickness, where sickness means 'illness'. So, lovesickness is like being 'ill' with love, meaning a deep longing or pain when you cannot be with someone you love.